Flexible curtain and material therefor



(No Model.) 2's11eets'-sheet 1.

H. S. HALE.

PLBXlBLE CURTAIN AND MATERIAL THEREPOR.

No. 333,408.; Patented Deo. 29, 1885.

n. Firms. Pxmwmnogmpnur. wnnmgw' n. c.

2 She-ets- Sheet 2.

H. S. HALE.

ELEXIELE GUEIAIN AND MATERIAL IEEEEEOE.

(No Model.)

Patented Deo. 29. 1885.

n. persas. mnmymr. wam n.1;

UNITED STATES y PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY S. HALE, VOF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

FLEXIBLE CURTAIN AND MATERIAL THEREFOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 333,408, dated December29, 1885.

Application Filed May 17, 1884. Serial No. 131,884.

To all whom it 71mg concern,.-

Beit known that I, HENRY S. HALE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inFlexible Curtains and Material Therefor, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

Figure l is a top or plan View of a fabric `made in accordance withmy'invention. Fig.

' used in a window-curtain. Fig.8 is a transverse section, enlarged, ofthe roller and lower end of a curtain containing my invention. Fig. 9 isa perspective showing t-he manner of forming the blanks.

Heretofore compound flexible fabrics adapt- ',ed to be used in themanufacture of various articles in which it is desirable to form theexterior surface of wood in ornamental designs have been made byattaching narrow slats or strips of wood having their edges rounded to acanvas or other flexible back. In making such fabrics for use incurtains it is necessary that the slats should be very narrow, in orderthat the curtain may roll, and it is found practically impossible toattach such narrow strips of wood to the supporting canvas or back withthe regularity and accuracy necesssary, for it will be seen if eachstrip does not run perpendicular to the edge of the fabric and parallelwith each other strip the curtain will not roll properly.

It is the purpose of my invention to reduce the cost and labor of makingsuch a fabric, as well as to insure that the strips of wood may be putupon and secured to the flexible back with the required degree ofaccuracy, and to this end it consists in grooving upon one face acomparatively wideslat, which on account of its width may be easilyhandled, so that there shall be formed a series of narrow beads, theslat being adapted, after it has beenattached to the canvas, to bend orseparate along the (No model.)

lines of the grooves, thereby permitting it to be rolled upon acomparatively small roller.

In the working of my invention I take thin l slats or strips A of wood,and by means of suitable Wood-Working machinery form one surface intonarrow beads a a, having their corners rounded, so that the groovesorincisions between two adjacent beads shall be of such depth that thefilms or strips of wood at the bottoms of the grooves are sufficientlystrong to hold together the various beads or narrow strips c, formingthe grooved slat, if carefully handled during their attachment to thecanf vas; but at the same time they are so weak that they may be brokenwithout leavlng slivers or rough edges after they are attached to thefabric, in order to facilitate the curtain being wound upon a smallroller, there being thus formed as many narrow strips as there werebeads, each one of which strips will be parallel with the others.

In practice I usually prefer to make the strip A of about seven-eighthsof aninch 1n width and from one-sixteenth to an eighth of an three cuts,thus dividing the slats into four ribs or beads. I then take a series ofsuch grooved slats and cement them to a sheet, B. of strong flexiblefabric (sayasheet of canvas) by means of any suitable adhesivematerialsuch as glue, for instance. v By the use of two sets of suchslats secured to an intermediate sheet of canvas I produce a fabricwhich is uni` form in appearance upon opposite sides, and issufficiently flexible to admit of its being applied to surfaces ofirregular outline or conof such sorts as will produce the desiredeffectas, for instance, black walnut, ash, and cherrythe boards being ofuniform thickness, such as to make the blank seven-eighths of an inch lthick after they are glued together. I then, by means of an ordinarycircular saw, cut the plank into strips or slats on the dotted lines cIco c and afterward cut the beads, making either three or six beads uponthe surface of each slat, the object in making either three or six beingto facilitate cutting one groove upon the dividing-lines betweenadjacent strips of wood, with an intermediate groove or incision in the5 center of each strip of wood where it is desired to produce six beadsupon each slat.

In Fig. 4 one series of slats is omitted, thus producing a fabric whichexposes one surface of the canvas or other iiexible material. In

1o this latter construction I propose under some circumstances to usewater-proof canvas-say one which has been coated with a preparation ofrubber, enamel, or similar substance-t guard against undue action ofmoisture in I5 loosening the slats from the canvas. A fabric,

one member of which consists of a waterproofed flexible backing of suchcharacter, will be found very desirable for window-curtains in eitherrailroad-cars or dwellings, from the 2C fact that the ribbed or beadedwooden surface may be turned ltoward the interior of the apartment,while the outer canvas face may be placed toward the window, whbre itwould be liable to be wetted by rain.

latter-described fabric I propose to ornament the exposed surface of thecanvas by bending or otherwise inscribing thereon ornamental designs.

In Fig. 7 I have shown my fabric as used in a window-curtain, in whichcase I propose to groove the vertical casings, as at f, to receive theedges of the curtain and guide them to the roller G, which may be of anyusual or preferred construction, although in practice I prefer thatwhich is known as the Hartshorn roller.

H is a roller or rod attached to the lower end of the curtain. Thisroller H is constructed with alongitudinal dovetailed groove,

45 tically a single bead of dovetailed form in cross-section, insertthem within the dovetailed groove h, and further secure them in place,if necessary, by gluing them or by inserting lockingpins h2. The lengthof the bottom roller, H, is about equal to the width of the openingbetween the window-casings, and it is so placed upon the curtain thatit, the curtain, will project to about equal distances beyondjeach endof the roller, in order that the engagement of the ends of the rollerwith the inner walls of the window-casing will prevent the edges of thecurtain from rubbing against the bottoms of the grooves f, and will alsoinsure that it shall run straight and true upon the roller G whenwinding up.

I do not wish to be limitedto any particular number of grooves,incisions, or beads upon a single slat, nor to any particular width ofslat, but I have described herein the best method now known to me ofworking my in- Inmaking this vention, although many modificationstherein will readily suggest themselves toa skilled mechanic withoutmaking any departure from the spirit of my invention. Nor do I wish tobe limited to making each slat of different 7o kinds of wood, although Iprefer, under ordinary circumstances, to make the slats of differentkinds of wood in order to enhance the l ornamental effect.

I am aware that a compound fabric consist'- 75 ing of slats with roundededges cemented toa flexible fabric has been heretofore made, but I amnot aware that a fabric composed of grooved or beaded slats secured to aflexible canvas or equivalent material has ever before 8o beenconstructed. And such construction is a very desirable one, because ofits increased flexibility, especially if the grooves or in# cisions bemade deep enough to insure that the ribs shall be separated from eachother by breaking apart the films of wood which connect them after acomparatively short use.

What I claim is- 1. The herein described slat A, grooved upon one faceto form beads a a, and adapted 9c to be attached to a flexible back toform a cur- -f tain, substantially as set forth.

2. The herein-described slat, formed of separate strips of wood unitedtogether by their edges and afterward grooved upon one face r along thelines of uniting ofthe different strips, and adapted to be attached to aflexible back to form a curtain, substantially as set forth.

3. `The herein described fabric, consisting of a flexible back, andslats grooved upon one mo face to form beads a a, and secured to theflexible back with the grooved face exposed, substantially as set forth.

4. The herein-described fabric, consisting of a flexible back, and slatsformed of separate x05 strips of wood united by their edges and groovedupon one face, and secured to the flexible back with the grooved faceexposed, substantially as set forth.

5. The herein-described fabric, consisting of I 1o two series of slats,each slat grooved upon oneface, and a sheet of fiexible materialinterposed between the two series of slats, to which they are attachedwith their grooved faces exposed, substantially as set forth. I x5 6.The combination of the roller H, provided with a dovetailed groove, andthe curtain consisting of the flexible fabric and the wooden slatsattached to one face thereof, the two lower slats being beveled upontheir op- 12o posite edges, as at h, whereby when folded together theyform a dovetailed bead, adapted to t the groove in the roller H,substantially as 'set forth.

In testimony whereof I aix my signaturein rg 5 presence of twowitnesses.

HENRY S. HALE.

Vitnesses:

JN0. B. KILBURN, J as. S. BREEN.

